Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch weren't nearly this comfy at the Fitzgerald Theater on Wednesday.

Here's further proof that even though she's one of the best modern purveyors of traditional Southern music, Gillian Welch isn't really a Southerner: A few songs into her harmonious set Wednesday at the Fitzgerald Theater, the California-bred singer/songwriter admitted she was taken back by the heat Wednesday in St. Paul: "When we saw our tour itinerary, I thought, 'Oh that's perfect: July in Minnesota. That'll be awesome. It is awesome, but... ." It didn't help that the historic theater's air-conditioning proved to be woefully antiquated for the capacity crowd (although, Tuesday's show with Five for Fighting was reportedly even more stifling).

When you're singing woeful, miserable, often tragic bluegrass music, a little discomfort isn't a necessarily a bad thing. At least, it didn't do much to spoil Tuesday's shimmering, two-hour-plus performance, an "evening with" concert that was split into two sets. The first half featured more classic tunes from Welch, including "One More Dollar," "Wrecking Ball," "Sing That Rock 'n' Roll" and "Acony Bell." The latter song was specially plucked for the show because Welch recalled playing it on the same at the request of Garrison Keillor when they debuted on "A Prairie Home Companion" some 15 years ago.

The second set focused on more recent tunes. Not only did that include many of the golden nuggets on Welch's first album in eight years, "The Harrow & the Harvest," such as "Down Along the Dixie Line" and the ultra-dark "Silver Dagger." Dave Rawlings, Welch's inseparable partner, also played one of the songs off his 2009 album, a rapid-picked witty ditty called "Sweet Teeth" that lightened up the mood. Rawlings and Welch also cut loose in her new one, "Six White Horses," which included a knee-slapping, boot-stomping bit by Welch that came off like a cross between line dancing and "Riverdance."

Wednesday's two encores truly topped off the show. They started with "Hard Times," also off the new album and an absolute classic-in-waiting. Welch started it out solo on banjo, and then Rawlings came in halfway through to help build it up to beautiful heights -- maybe the best five minutes I've enjoyed at a concert this year. And speaking of getting high, the duo then pulled off a chills-inducing, refreshingly sincere cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" for the second encore, which they recently debuted on NPR's "Fresh Air" and now have for sale on iTunes. Definitely not a Southern thing, but Welch did her California roots proud for the finale.